


The Green Man

by Dextrousleftie



Category: Original Work
Genre: Anal Sex, Children, Fluff, Gay Romance, Gay Sex, Love, Lust, M/M, Oral Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-08-16 21:15:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8117812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dextrousleftie/pseuds/Dextrousleftie
Summary: Avery Green is surprised when two children come into his health food store to put up a flier. But the truly astonishing thing is what it says! The kids are looking for a boyfriend for their uncle. Their hot, sexy, gorgeous, single gay uncle...





	1. Chapter 1

Avery Green was stocking the shelves in his business, The Green Man Healthy Living Store, when he heard the brass bell over the front door jingle. He set a box of organic crackers made from amaranth flour on the shelf, and hurried over to the counter. “Welcome to The Green Man,” he began, then trailed off when he didn’t see anybody standing by the door. He frowned slightly. Had somebody just come in, looked around, and left?

Then a voice spoke up, making him jump. “Excuse me, Sir,” it said, and Avery realized that it was coming from down in front of the counter. He leaned over a bit, and found himself looking at two children standing near the doorway of his store.

The older of the two was a girl with big brown eyes like a doe’s, and wavy black hair pulled back in a tail behind her head. She was slightly dark-complected, but her skin wasn’t brown. She held the hand of a little boy, who was obviously her brother. He had a head of curls that looked like iron filings, and his huge brown eyes were framed with lashes that would have done a woman proud. He was absolutely adorable, and he clung to his big sister’s hand as he stared up at Avery’s face.

“Umm…can I help you, kids?” Avery asked, wondering if there was adult around somewhere that these children belonged to.

“Yes, you can,” the girl said in a quiet, serious voice. She looked about eight, but sounded much older. “Can we put this flier up in your store?” she held up a piece of paper for him to see.

Surprised, Avery blinked. “Well, I have a note board,” he said. “Where people put up fliers and announcements. What’s it a flier for?”

The girl handed it to him, as the boy put his fist in his mouth and gnawed on it a little. Avery took the flier and read it, and his mouth dropped open when he saw what it said. In plain black type, it said, ‘Wanted: A boyfriend for our daddy. Has to be nice, and like kids. Please call…’ and there was a local phone number under the lettering.

Avery finally pulled himself together. “Err…you kids are looking for a boyfriend for your father?” he asked, making the children nod their heads.

“He’s not actually our daddy,” the girl explained solemnly. “He’s our uncle. But my brother Rayan was only a year old when our parents died, so he insists on calling Uncle Jahaan ‘daddy’.”  
The boy took his fist out of his mouth and spoke up in a light, piping young voice. “Daddy needs a boyfriend. Shada said so.”

Avery didn’t know quite what to say to this. “Umm…” he began.

The girl spoke again. “Uncle Jahaan works hard during the day, and takes care of us when he gets home,” she explained to Avery. “He never has time to go out and find a boyfriend. I think he’s sad because he doesn’t have anybody. Rayan and I want to find someone to be his boyfriend. That’s why we want to put up these fliers,” and she displayed a sheaf of fliers that she held in her hand to him.

“Oh, I see,” a bemused Avery said, caught between wanting to laugh helplessly and a sense of horror over their innocent naiveté. “Err…I honestly don’t think that you kids should put up those fliers. Trust me, the kind of people who might be inclined to call probably wouldn’t be the right kind of men to be a good boyfriend for your uncle. You might even get crank callers and things like that - and you don’t want your uncle to have to deal with that, do you?”

The girl shook her head, as the boy scratched at his inky curls. “No, but how else can we get Uncle Jahaan a boyfriend?” she asked unhappily.

“I think you’d better leave that to him,” Avery assured her. “Don’t you want him to be able to pick out a guy for himself? One that he likes?”

“Yes, but he never does!” the girl protested, frowning. “All he does is stay home with us. And he’s sad, I can tell. We don’t want him to be sad anymore.”

“I can understand that,” Avery said, still wanting to laugh a little at how seriously these adorable creatures were taking this whole thing. But he knew that at their age, a situation like this WOULD be very serious - at least to them. And he was touched that they’d gone to all of this trouble to make their uncle happy. “But maybe you guys should talk to him about it first before you do something like put up those fliers. I’m sure that he’d like to know that you’re worried about him, and that you want him to find a boyfriend. Maybe he thinks that he shouldn’t have one because it might upset you.”

The girl blinked. “Why would Uncle Jahaan having a boyfriend upset us?” she asked in puzzlement.

Avery wondered how to explain how a gay man would worry that young children might be upset about his sexual orientation, and wouldn’t want to shove it in their faces. “Adults worry about what their kids think of them,” he began tentatively. “Maybe your uncle thinks that him having a boyfriend would upset you guys because everybody else has a mommy and a daddy, not two daddies. Do you see what I mean?”

The girl frowned thoughttfully over what he’d just said, while the boy stared intently at a rack of chocolate and candy in front of the counter. He tugged at his sister’s flowered shirt. “Shada? Can I have candy?” he demanded hopefully.

She sighed. “I didn’t bring any money except for the bus, Rayan,” she told him regretfully.

His face fell, and a suspicious glimmer of tears appeared in the big brown eyes. Avery shook his head over being a sucker, but came around the counter and knelt down in front of the cute tyke. “What kind of candy would you like, Rayan?” he asked.

“Chocolate!” the boy cried, brightening up immediately.

“Okay. Here you go,” he snagged an organic chocolate bar from the rack and handed it to the boy. “It’s free,” he added for the girl’s benefit, as she looked worried. Her face cleared, and she smiled at him. It lightened her serious face, and showed the fact that she was going to be a beauty when she grew up.

“Thank you, Sir,” she said softly.

“It’s Avery, Avery Green. You can call me Avery or Mr. Green,” he said.

The boy was tearing the wrapper off the chocolate greedily, then he shoved about a quarter of it into his mouth at one time. He chewed happily, an expression of bliss on his round face. Avery chuckled as he snagged yet another bar and handed it to the girl. She took it with thanks, and peeled the wrapper off carefully before nibbling at a corner of it. Her brother was still scarfing his own bar like a man who’d been deprived of food for a year, and there were brown smears all around his rosy mouth.

Avery straightened up. “How did you guys get here?” he asked in concern. “Did you say that you rode the bus?”

The girl nodded, pausing in taking another bite of her chocolate. “We wanted to put the fliers up downtown. So that everybody could see them,” she explained.

Avery wanted to shudder in horror at the very thought of the freaks, bigots and just plain crazy people who would have bombarded their phone with calls if the kids had succeeded in putting up all of those fliers. “Okay,” he said aloud. “Does anybody know where you are?”

The girl looked embarrassed. “We sort of snuck out without telling our babysitter, Mrs. Jenkins, where we were going,” she told Avery. “We wanted it to be a surprise for Uncle Jahaan.”

“Lordie,” he muttered. “I’ll just bet it would have been. Did it occur to you…Shada, isn’t it? That Mrs. Jenkins might be worried about you? And that your uncle probably knows that you guys are gone by now, and is freaking out?”

She looked horrified at his words, which made the boy stop eating. His eyes were wide, and he looked like he was going to start crying again. Avery felt terrible. “Look, give me your uncle’s cell phone number - do you know it? And I’ll call him and tell him where you are. I won’t lie…you’ll probably get into trouble for sneaking out. But you don’t want your uncle to cry, do you? You don’t want him to be scared that something might have happened to you guys?”

The girl shook her head as her brother clung to her hand and looked scared. Shada recited her uncle’s cell phone number for him, and Avery memorized it before going around and picking up the handset on the phone sitting on his counter. He dialed the number, and heard it ring several times before it was picked up. “Hello?” a man’s voice said, a voice that was both lightly accented and full of worry and tension.

“Hello? Is this Jahaan? Jahaan…” he paused and put his hand over the headset, looking quizzically down at Shada.

“Hajjar,” she mouthed to him.

“Jahaan Hajjar?” he said into the phone quickly.

“Yes. Who is this?” the man asked politely, but the tension in his voice had notched up even further.

“My name is Avery Green, and I run a store called The Green Man downtown. Your niece and nephew came in not too long ago, wanting to put up a flier in my store. They told me that they snuck out and took the bus downtown, and I convinced them to let me call you and tell you that they’re here in my store and they’re safe. I knew you’d be worried sick.”

What he presumed was an expletive in some lyrical foreign language rang out over the phone. “Those little…! I’ve been worried to death!” the man cried. “I swear, I’m going to kill them!”

Avery smiled a little at this threat, knowing it was simply the words of a man who’d been out of his mind with worry over his young charges going A.W.O.L. “Well, I’ll look after them until you can come and get them,” he told Jahaan.

“Thank you so much,” he replied fervently. “I can’t thank you enough, Mr. Green.”

“Hey, it’s no problem. I’d want somebody to do it for me if it were my niece and nephew,” Avery told him. Here’s my address,” he added, and said it slowly so that the other man could write it down.

“Got it. I’ll be there as quickly as I can,” Jahaan said, before hanging up abruptly. Avery understood this slight rudeness, and didn’t hold it against him as he replaced the handset in its cradle.

“Your uncle is coming to pick you up,” he told the children.

The girl held her brother’s hand tightly. “Is he mad?” she asked, sounding scared now too.

He sighed. “Yes, but I can understand that. You scared him. He probably thought something awful happened to you when he couldn’t find you at home. I’m sure that he’ll get over being mad once he can hug you both and maybe yell at you a little for scaring him. Don’t worry,” he added, because the boy’s lower lip was trembling, and the girl had looked down to conceal her tears, “I’m sure that he’ll be more relieved that you’re both okay than anything else. Look, why don’t you guys come into the back and sit down? You can have some juice and I’ll make you something to eat while we wait for your uncle to come and pick you up. It’ll be alight, I swear.”

 

They both looked at him with those big eyes, and damn if he didn’t want to hug them both too. “Come on,” he urged, and took them into the back of the store where his office was. He got them to sit down on the ratty but comfortable old couch he kept back there, and he brought them both a bottled juice to drink while he popped a couple of ready-made meals from one of the coolers in his store into the microwave to heat up for them. He had kid’s meals, which he thought they might like.

Of course, he did wonder what the uncle looked like. Was he as gorgeous as these kids? He couldn’t quite help himself, because not only was the uncle a gay man who apparently hadn’t had a boyfriend for some time, Avery was in the same boat. He’d broken up with HIS last boyfriend over six months ago, and he’d been depressed enough over a bad break-up that he hadn’t gone looking for anybody else so far. But he tried to push these thoughts out of his mind as he took the now done food back to his office to give it to the children. Idle speculation about a situation that he knew little about was pointless.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sexy uncle arrives to fetch his children.

Avery was helping a customer when the door was pushed open with some force, and a man came into his store like a whirlwind. He knew right away that this had to be the children’s uncle, Jahaan Hajjar - not only from the frantic expression on the man’s face, but the fact that the man looked just like the two tykes currently occupying themselves with coloring books and crayons in his back office. Or the kids looked just like their uncle, anyway. 

Damn, the man was gorgeous! His bright brown eyes were smaller than the kids’ were, of course; but they had the same extravagant fringe of lashes that Rayan’s did. Raven-black hair waved around his head, and his face showed what the boy might look like in twenty or thirty years. High cheekbones, a well-shaped, sensual mouth, a firm chin, and an aristocratic length of nose.

His eyes scanned the store, then unerringly honed in on Avery. He came over to the counter where Avery was bagging up the purchases that the customer had made. The woman in question was staring with a slightly open mouth at the man who’d just come in, something Avery couldn’t blame her for. He’d had a similar reaction himself. “Avery Green?” the man said, in the same accented voice that had spoken to him over the phone earlier.

“Yes, I am. You must be Jahaan Hajjar. Please wait a moment, and I’ll take you to the kids,” Avery said, and he nodded impatiently and stood waiting as Avery finished what he was doing and saw the customer out of his store with a smile and a word of thanks. She went with a last glance over her shoulder at Jahaan.

Avery turned back to Jahaan. “Come with me,” he said, rounding the counter and leading the way into the back where his office was.

The man was practically walking on his heels. Avery seemed to feel hot breath on the back of his neck, and the brown eyes were boring into his back. He ignored a slight shiver of heat that danced down his spine; since he knew that Jahaan wasn’t interested in him at the moment. All the man cared about were the children in Avery’s office.

He opened the door, revealing the interior of his office. Shada and Rayan were sitting on the floor next to a coffee table, using the crayons that Avery had given them on two coloring books. Avery always kept books, toys, and coloring books in one corner of his store so that the customers’ children could have something to do to entertain themselves while their parents shopped.

Rayan was making a colorful mess on his page, while Shada was neatly coloring in the lines. Both looked up when the door opened, and their eyes widened when they saw their uncle standing behind Avery. Rayan said timidly: “Daddy?”, while Shada dropped her eyes and looked miserable.

Jahaan brushed by Avery without even looking at him. He went two steps into the office and knelt down, opening his arms and saying grimly: “Come here.”

They both came to him, looking unhappy. When they were within reach, he pulled them in close and hugged them tightly to him. “Oh, God,” he said, his words muffled by Shada’s hair, “I’ve been so scared! I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you guys. Don’t ever, EVER do that again, okay?”

“We’re sorry, Uncle Jahaan,” Shada said sadly, while Rayan sniffled and buried his face in his uncle’s white shirt.

He pulled back and looked her in the face. “Why, Shada? Why did you guys sneak out? Mrs. Jenkins is having a nervous breakdown. She’s sure that it’s her fault.”

“It’s not!” the girl protested. “We just wanted…to come downtown so we could put up our fliers.”

“Fliers?” Jahaan said, puzzled. “What fliers?”

Shada pulled away and retrieved one of the stack of fliers piled on the coffee table. She brought it back to her uncle and handed it to him. “These fliers,” she said.

He took it one-handed, since his other hand was petting through Rayan’s inky curls tenderly. He read the flier, and his shoulders stiffened. Avery heard him let out a low groan. “Dear God,” he said in appalled horror.

Shada was looking anxious. “Did we do bad, Uncle Jahaan? We just wanted to find you a boyfriend.”

“Did you actually put any of these up?” he demanded, sounding horrified.

She shook her head. “Mr. Green said that we shouldn’t,” she explained, looking at Avery.

Jahaan also turned to look at him, seeing him for the first time. “Thank you,” he said intensely.

Avery shrugged. “I just didn’t think it would be a good idea for them to put those fliers up,” he said.

“No,” Jahaan sighed, shuddering. “It wouldn’t have been. I can see that I owe you even more than I thought.” he added gratefully.

“You don’t owe me anything. Like I said before, I’d want somebody to do the same for me if it were my niece and nephew,” he told Jahaan.

“Yes, but I’m still very grateful. If nothing else…” he rose to his feet, and held out his hands to Rayan and Shada to take, “I can buy something in your store for dinner. What would you like to eat, guys?”

“Pizza!” Rayan yelled, making his uncle’s lips twitch.

“No, Rayan, not tonight. I’m going to cook for us tonight,” Jahaan explained to his nephew. Then he got a stern look on his face. “And besides, pizza would be a reward. And I will not reward you for being bad and sneaking out of the house like that. You scared both me and Mrs. Jenkins. You even made her cry.”

Ryan’s eyes filled with tears, and he began to cry. “I’m sorry!” he wailed. He hurled himself onto his uncle and hugged his leg. “I’m sorry, Daddy!”

“I know you are, Rayan,” Jahaan replied, stroking his hair again.

“It’s my fault, not Rayan’s, Uncle Jahaan,” Shada protested. “I made him come with me because I didn’t want him to tell you and Mrs. Jenkins where I was going.”

“I’m glad that you’re taking the blame, Shada,” he said seriously. “I’m grounding you for two weeks. No going to friends’ houses, no computer, nothing. You’ll just do your homework and help Mrs. Jenkins with the housework. Is that a fair punishment?”

She nodded, although her shoulders drooped. “Yes, Uncle Jahaan,” she said manfully.

“Good girl. Now come on, let’s decide what we want to buy for dinner.” he led them toward the door of the office, and he smiled at Avery as he stepped back out of there way. That white smile did funny things in Avery’s abdomen. “You have a very nice store here, Mr. Green,” he remarked as they all went out into the main part once again.

“Thank you. If I can help with anything, just let me know,” Avery said.

“We will.” Jahaan steered the kids toward the back wall of the store, where Avery had racks of organic vegetables and fruits, and also freezers full of organic grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, and seafood certified to be free of heavy metals and arsenic. Rayan had to stand on tiptoe to see the vegetables, making a face when his uncle teasingly suggested that they get some brussel sprouts. Avery muffled his laughter at the boy’s expression as he stood by waiting to see if they needed any help with anything; he told himself it was because they were the only customers in the store right now that he was hovering.

Jahaan and the children finally decided on some steaks, carrots, broccoli, and white potatoes. Avery brought them a basket to pile their purchases in, and Rayan tried to tote it around without much success until his uncle took it from him. The main food stuff was joined by butter, sea salt, a little bag of rice flour, and dessert, a real fruit raspberry sorbet. Avery went behind the counter to ring their purchases up, and Shada tugged at her uncle’s hand.  
“Mr. Green gave us candy bars, and juice, and food,” she told him gravely.

Jahaan looked at him. “Is that true?” he asked.

Avery nodded. “But that was on the house,” he began.

Jahaan shook his head. “No. I will pay for anything that they ate or drank. It’s not fair that you lose the money for that as well as everything else that you’ve done for us. Please,” he said courteously, and Avery couldn’t resist such a well-mannered request(coming from such a beautiful man). He rang up the chocolate bars, kids’ meals, and juice bottles reluctantly.

Jahaan produced a credit card to pay for everything, and Avery began to put his purchases into bags for him. He glanced sideways at Jahaan, who was holding the children’s hands again like he was afraid that if he let go they’d vanish into thin air on him. The man’s obvious love for his wards made Avery’s heart melt. He reminded himself silently that he’d probably never see either Jahaan or the kids again, so getting too attached would be a bad idea. Finally the bags were full, and he handed them to Jahaan.

“There you go.” he said, feeling a twinge of melancholy as the other man took the bags and draped them over his arms.

“We need to get home and start dinner,” Jahaan told the kids. “But before we go, please thank Mr. Green for taking such good care of you.”

Shada and Rayan looked up at him. “Thank you, Mr. Green,” they both said, almost together.

He smiled down at them. “You’re welcome, kids. See you later,” he added, knowing that that probably wasn’t true.

He received another of those devastating smiles from Jahaan. “Goodbye, Mr. Green. Thank you again for taking care of them for me.”

Avery lifted his hand as the man guided his children out the door and to his car. Shada and Rayan waved back at him before they climbed inside. Avery sighed, lowering his hand. Suddenly the store felt incredibly empty. He was glad to turn the Open sign to Closed, and to lock the door and tidy up before retreating to his apartment over the store.  
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Avery was putting up a display of organic fruit leather near the little produce section the next day when the door bell went off. He turned and went over to the counter, starting to greet his customer automatically. But the words died in his throat when he saw the three people who’d just entered The Green Man - Jahaan Hajjar was leading his niece and nephew by the hands, and Rayan beamed up at him. “Hello, Mr. Green!” he caroled happily.

Shada smiled at him shyly, and Jahaan lifted his shoulders in a wry shrug. “We’re back,” he intoned in a voice meant to sound rather creepy and sing-song.

Avery found himself smiling widely. “Welcome back,” he replied, meaning it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jahaan and the children return to Avery's store once again, and Jahaan informs Avery that the children think that HE should be Jahaan's boyfriend!

“Hi, Mr. Green!” Rayan yelled, waving at him vigorously. Shada gave him a shy smile as Jahaan shook his head over his nephew’s overenthusiastic greeting.

“Hi, Rayan.” Avery said in amusement.

“Do you want to see the picture I drew in class today?” Rayan demanded, holding up a piece of drawing paper triumphantly in his chubby fist.

“I’d love to,” Avery assured him, coming around his counter so that he could squat down next to the boy.

“He’s been wanting to show you that ever since Mrs. Jenkins picked him up from pre-school,” Jahaan remarked wryly as Rayan held out the paper to Avery so that he could take it.

Avery took the paper and looked at it. It was a crayon drawing of a stick figure with spiky black hair atop its head, and beside it was another stick figure that was shorter than the first and was wearing a triangle crayon dress which had been colored in with a pink crayon. A jaunty red bow was perched atop this figure’s head, among a mass of black crayon hair. And there was a third figure, smaller than the other two, with the same black spiky hair as the first one. The outline of a house tilted drunkenly to one side, and a brown blob with four stick legs was beside the house. Green grass in a long line was colored under the stick legs of the three central figures.

“That’s Daddy,” Rayan told him, pointing his finger at the tallest stick figure. “And that’s Shada,” he went on, moving his finger to the stick figure with the pink triangle dress, “And that’s ME!” he shouted, pointing at the smallest stick figure. “This is our house,” he added, indicating the listing structure. “And our cat, Moogles.” his little finger landed on the brown blob as he spoke.

“Wow, that’s a great picture,” Avery said.

Rayan beamed at him. “We’re gonna put it on the fridge at home, Daddy said so,” he confided to Avery.

“That’s a great place for such a good drawing,” Avery replied solemnly.

“See? I told you that Mr. Green would like it!” Rayan yelled at his uncle and sister, as though they weren’t standing right next to him.

Jahaan’s lips twitched visibly. “Yes, I can see that you were right, Rayan,” he agreed. To Avery, he added: “The children wanted to come and buy something for dinner.”

Oh. He tried to suppress a lance of disappointment that it was only the kids who’d wanted to return to his store. Shada spoke to him in her soft, polite voice. “Mr. Green? Can we color again? Please?”

He straightened up and smiled at her. “Of course you can, sweetheart. Over here,” he led the kids over to the plastic kids’ table and chairs that he had over in one corner of the store, with a little bookshelf that held children’s books, coloring books, boxes of crayons, and a few toys. He had them sit down and produced the coloring books that they’d been using yesterday, handing one to Shada and the other to Rayan.

“I’ll do one you can put on your fridge, Mr. Green,” the boy said happily, turning to the page after the colorful mess that he’d produced yesterday and reaching out to grab a crayon from the box that Avery had set down next to him.

“That’ll be great, Rayan,” Avery assured him. The boy attacked the page, happily leaving a large smear of forest green over the top of Garfield’s face. Avery tried hard not to laugh.

Shada was neatly coloring in the face of a Disney princess, her movements careful and graceful. Avery hovered over them for a moment, but finally left to return to Jahaan at the counter. He told himself that he had to attend to a customer, and the kids were intent on their coloring anyway. Jahaan smiled ruefully at him as he approached, lifting his shoulders. “You don’t mind? Us hanging out here a bit?” he asked Avery.

“Not at all,” Avery replied truthfully. “Would you like a stool?” he went behind his counter and dragged out one of the stools that he kept back there, for when he needed to sit down or one of his customers needed to get off of their feet.

“God, yes,” Jahaan remarked fervently, easing himself down onto the stool with a weary sigh. “Long day at work,” he told Avery with a grimace.

Avery admired his body, which was clad in a medium-grey suit with a very narrow lighter grey pinstripe. A dark-blue tie with silver stripes rested on a very white shirt with a starched collar. “What do you do?” he asked.

Jahaan sighed, getting comfortable on the stool. “I work for an aeronautical engineering firm,” he told Avery. “Supervising engineers as they toil away coming up with new designs for airplanes and everything that goes in them. I used to only be an engineer, but I took the better-paying supervisor’s job when I became Shada and Rayan’s guardian. It’s very…stressful,” he added tiredly, running a hand through his wavy black hair. “But college funds don’t fill themselves.”

Avery felt a flash of sympathy. It was clear that Jahaan had given up his entire life to make the best home and life possible for the children; admiration also lanced through him, along with a surge of attraction. Aloud he said: “I can understand that. But you should think about yourself as well, you know. If even the kids have noticed how unhappy you are…” he went on tactfully.

Jahaan groaned, rubbing at his face with his long fingers. “That awful flier,” he remarked through his fingers.

“Yes, it’s an awful flier,” Avery agreed, wanting to pat the distressed man on his shoulder comfortingly, “But they wouldn’t have created that awful flier if they weren’t worried about you.”

“I know that,” Jahaan said wearily. “They’re great kids, and Shada’s always been a worrier anyway. But it’s not as though I’m TRYING not to have a personal life,” he went on dryly, rubbing at his temple as though he were developing a headache, “But I work so many hours, and then I have to come home and take care of the kids…not to mention the fact that most gay guys do not take well to being approached with a pick-up line like: ‘Hey, do you like kids? Would you like to settle down with me and help to raise them’? They’re not looking for a long-term relationship, especially with kids involved, when they’re out at bars and clubs. So even if I can get away for the night, the best I can do is someone who wants a one-night stand. And that is not very fulfilling anyway.”

Avery had to agree with him on that one. He could see Jahaan’s problem, and his feelings of sympathy ratcheted up…as did certain other feelings as well. “I wish that I could give you some advice,” he remarked aloud. “But I’m afraid I’m not equipped to comment, anyway. I haven’t been on a date since I broke up with my boyfriend over six months ago. It was a bad break-up,” he explained with a grimace of his own. “And I just didn’t feel like going through all of the rigmarole of trying to find somebody to replace him.”

Jahaan’s amazing brown eyes were studying his face. “Those kids,” he remarked, sounding rather awed, “Have the best instincts I’ve ever seen.”

“What do you mean?” Avery asked in puzzlement.

Jahaan took in a long breath of air. “Shada and Rayan have been pestering me since I got home to bring them here,” he told Avery, “Because they think that YOU should be my boyfriend.”

His jaw dropped. “What?” he said feebly.

Jahaan nodded. “I told them that I wasn’t even sure that you liked other men, or that you’d want to be my boyfriend even if you did. But they insisted. And even though I now know that you’re gay for sure, that doesn’t mean that you’d want to try dating me…” he looked keenly at Avery, “Would you?”

His heart was hammering wildly in his chest. His mouth felt dry as a desert. “Well,” he began, trying to sound even a little bit reluctant, “I don’t know. We could maybe give it a try…”

“Yes,” Jahaan agreed, his lips lifting in a small smile that made Avery’s chest tighten(and his groin tighten as well). “We could try. I’ll have to get a babysitter some night this week…”

“Actually, no you don’t,” Avery replied, making him look surprised.

“What do you mean?” Jahaan asked him.

“Well, I live just above the store,” Avery began. “And I was thinking that I could cook you guys dinner some night - maybe tomorrow? And afterward, I could rent the kids some videos and they could watch those while you and I got to know each other. What do you think?”

Jahaan was staring at him in amazement. “What a wonderful idea. If that’s all right with you? I don’t want to put you out, making you cook for us all. And having the children there…I can get a babysitter, it’s all right…”

“No, I’d love to cook for you guys,” Avery replied honestly. “I seldom get to cook for anybody but myself these days. Besides, I wouldn’t consider the kids being there a bad thing. I like kids,” he added simply. “And yours are really great. I’m sure that they won’t get in the way too much.”

“I’m not sure about that,” Jahaan said sardonically, “Although it’s true that they are very good children generally. And if they know that I am trying to get you to be my boyfriend,” he went on with a twinkle in his brown eyes, “Then they’ll be sure to be on their best behavior anyway. But be prepared for endless insinuations from them about how you should be my boyfriend, because they’re extremely persistent when they want something.”

“I’m sure I can handle it,” Avery said with a slight smile.

Jahaan tilted his head a little. “Do you know, I believe you about that?” he mused. “You handled the whole situation yesterday beautifully. Perhaps Shada and Rayan have finally met their match,” he paused, then his lips lifted again in that wonderful smile that did weird thing to Avery’s abdomen, “And perhaps…” he added, “I have met MINE as well.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jahaan and Avery have their first date, with kids in tow.

Avery flitted around his apartment, checking on the whole chicken that he had roasting in the oven before going out into the living room to pull the movies that he’d rented out of the bag and stack them on his coffee table. He’d gotten at least a half-a-dozen children’s movies, not knowing what the kids’ taste in movies was. He’d gotten a couple of Disney cartoons and Garfield the Movie because of the coloring books that Rayan and Shada had been using yesterday, as well as some Pixar movies and Shrek 3. He’d let them choose what they wanted to watch after they’d eaten dinner.

After that, he went into his bedroom and took a shower, before picking the clothes he wanted to wear this evening for his rather unusual date. He chose a green shirt that picked up the flecks of gold in his hazel-brown eyes, and charcoal grey slacks. He smoothed his somewhat unruly dark-brown hair down with a brush, looking at his face in the mirror. It was a pleasant one, not stunningly handsome(like Jahaan’s) but not butt ugly either. And he had a nice smile, if he did say so himself. He showed it off to his mirror self, checking his teeth to make sure that they were clean.

Okay, he was feeling nervous. Stupid of him; maybe he was just feeling out of practice after over six months alone. Or maybe it was the fact that Jahaan Hajjar was so drop-dead gorgeous that it was hard to believe that he was real. And really hard to believe that he was as unaware of his looks as he seemed to be. But he’d met people like that before; most beautiful people were highly aware of it and other people’s reaction to their beauty, but some seemed completely oblivious. He was glad that Jahaan fell into that latter category; most who were aware of their looks tended to be pretty egotistical and vain.

He went back into the kitchen to put the glass dish full of potatoes into the oven to bake, and got a pot boiling on top of the stove to cook the fresh asparagus in. He worked in perfect contentment; he’d always loved to cook, and cooking for others was even better than making solitary meals for himself. He’d loved cooking for his boyfriend until they’d broken up…

Avery sighed to himself. He had the worst luck with men! And he was never sure why, either. He wasn’t attracted to bad boys, yet he’d ended up with the most miserable, thankless stream of men…and he wasn’t spineless, either. He didn’t put up with bad behavior, which is why he never stayed with the cretins who hurt him. Yet somehow he always seemed to end up with every creep and low-life in a hundred-mile radius. Apparently his ability to pick good men was nil. But…in this case, he had a real chance. Because HE hadn’t picked Jahaan Hajjar out for himself; no, apparently Rayan and Shada Hajjar had done that for him. And children were supposed to be innocently wise, weren’t they?

He sure hoped so. Avery was very tired of being alone, yet his horrible choices where men were concerned had held him back from trying to find someone else to date. Until Shada and Rayan had entered his shop, he had been considering either becoming a Buddhist monk or dying alone, a celibate bachelor. And, like Bridget Jones, having his body eaten by wild dogs…

He smiled ruefully, adding a pinch of salt to the now boiling water before adding the stalks of asparagus. Whatever strange fortune had led those children into his shop, he couldn’t help but feel grateful to it. Because he had his first date in…well, at least a year-and-a-half, if you counted the time he’d been with his last boyfriend. That was something to celebrate, if nothing else. And he got to spend time with Jahaan and his adorable children. Many men would have balked at a date that included young children, but Avery had always liked kids. He adored his own nieces and nephews, and loved going home for the holidays to see them. Rayan, in fact, was about the same age as his youngest nephew Matthew. They were so cute at that age, when their wide eyes took in everything with interest and wonder and awe. Of course, Shada’s grave sweetness was also very cute. Her solemnness made him smile. She was like an old woman in a little girl’s body.

Avery pulled out a package of rolls and prepared to pop them into the oven once the potatoes were done. Jahaan and the kids would be here in less than an hour. He bustled out to begin setting the small dining table with four plates, cups, and four sets of silverware. He had some pretty mats to put the plates on, mats that would help if the kids spilled any food off of their plates. Then it back into the kitchen to stir the asparagus in the pot and another check of the chicken and potatoes. Both cooking nicely.

Avery went and turned on his stereo to have something to listen to while he worked. He sang to himself half under his breath as he finished dinner, covering all of the food to keep it from becoming cold. Finally he glanced at his watch, and realized he needed to go down into the shop and watch for the arrival of Jahaan and the children. The door was locked; if he didn’t open it for them they’d be stuck outside on the sidewalk. He went down the stairs and out into the main store, flipping on a couple of lights so the place wouldn’t be totally dark.

Seeing that his guests hadn’t arrived yet, he dusted and tidied and swept the store for something to do while he waited. Finally, he heard a knock on the door. He turned to see Jahaan and the children standing there, Rayan with his face pressed to the glass of the door as he peered inside. He smiled as he walked over to unlock the door. “Hi, Mr. Green!” Rayan piped.

“Hello again, Rayan,” he replied. He looked at Shada and Jahaan. The girl was wearing a very pretty red frock that accented her skin and hair; her uncle looked good enough to eat in a soft silvery-grey pullover shirt and tan slacks.

Shada greeted him more softly than her brother had. “Hello, Mr. Green.”

“Hi, Shada. Why don’t you guys come inside?” he said, stepping back.

They all trailed into his shop. “Doesn’t Uncle Jahaan look nice, Mr. Green?” Shada remarked to him, her eyes on his face.

His lips twitched. “Yes, he does, Shada. And you look very pretty too.”

Jahaan grinned whitely, his eyes dancing. “She insisted on wearing her best dress for the occasion,” he said in amusement.

“Well, it’s very nice. You look like a princess,” Avery told her.

She looked pleased at his words. “Uncle Jahaan helped me to pick it out,” she told Avery.

Jahaan’s lips were visibly quivering now. Avery looked away from his dancing eyes, lest he give in and start laughing loudly himself. “Come this way,” he told them all. “My apartment is upstairs.”

They all followed him as he led the way to the staircase. Rayan hopped onto the first step with both feet. “One!” he yelled triumphantly.

“He’s been doing that lately,” Jahaan explained softly in his ear, making Avery shiver a little at the touch of his hot breath. “He’s so proud that he’s learned to count, you see.”

“Ahh,” Avery replied, as Rayan hopped to the next step and caroled: “Two!”

Shada started up after her overexcited brother. “How many steps are there, Rayan?” she asked him, sounding like a grave little schoolmistress.

“Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!” he told her. “Eleventy-twelve, firteen, fourteen, fifteen! Fifteen!”

“Yes, that’s right,” Shada agreed as the two men looked at each other.

Avery couldn’t help but smile, and Jahaan shook his head. “Shada’s a little mother,” he whispered.

“I can see that,” Avery replied quietly. “Come on up; dinner’s ready.”

“That’s great. The kids are starving. And I could eat too,” Jahaan said as he followed Avery up the sitars and into his apartment, where Shada and Rayan were already poking around. 

“Garfield!” Rayan squealed picking up the DVD. “Look, Shada!”

“You’ve seen that like seven million times already, Rayan,” she said in exasperation.

“But it’s GOOD! Thanks, Mr. Green!” the boy cried, waving the case at him.

“Errr…you’re welcome,” Avery replied as Shada visibly rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you guys come and sit down? Dinner’s ready. Are you hungry?”

“Yes!” Rayan yelped, running over to the table. He clambered up on one of the side chairs, and Shada more quietly sat down on the other one. That left the two end chairs for Jahaan and Avery. Jahaan took the one on the far end, although he asked Avery: “Do you need any help with anything?”

“No. you just sit there; I’ll take care of everything,” Avery told him, moving off into the kitchen to start bringing out the food.

He brought out the roasted chicken, the pan of potatoes, a dish of buttered asparagus, and the pan of rolls. He also brought out a pitcher of juice for the kids and another of filtered tap water for himself and Jahaan. He didn’t know if the other man drank wine, or what kind he might like if he did; so he’d gone with water for now. “Mmm, looks good. Right, guys?” Jahaan remarked as Avery set the last pitcher on the table.

“Yeah!” Rayan remarked happily. Shada nodded.

“Smells good, too. I can’t cook this well,” Jahaan said wryly. “Although I try my best.”

“You’re a good cook, Uncle Jahaan,” Shada defended him stoutly.

“That’s nice of you to say, Shada, but I know my limitations,” Jahaan told her.

Avery smiled as he began to slice the chicken and serve the food. He piled Rayan’s plate full of a chicken leg, some pieces of white meat, potatoes, asparagus, and a roll, then filled his glass with juice. The boy dug right in, chewing ferociously, while Avery went on to serve Shada. She thanked him quietly before beginning to eat her own meal. Then he filled Jahaan’s plate, receiving a dazzling smile for his troubles. “You’ve made my day, Avery,” he said. “A home-cooked meal that I didn’t have to toil over? It’s a dream come true for me.”

He felt warmth in his abdomen at Jahaan’s fervent words. “Hey, I don’t mind. I like to cook for other people,” replied as he filled his own plate and went to sit down in his chair. “And lately I haven’t been able to do that. I’ve missed it.”

Jahaan speared a piece of chicken and put it in his mouth. A look of bliss spread over his handsome face, a sight which made Avery’s groin do bad things. “Perfection,” he hummed. “The last chicken that I cooked was dry as the Sahara.”

“I’m sure that’s not true...” Avery began.

Rayan broke in: “It was nasty,” he said, making a face. “We had pizza that day,” he added happily.

Jahaan grimaced, but his eyes were dancing. “You see? You are our savior, Avery.”

They all fell to eating, and the conversation ceased for the moment. But Avery thought about what Jahaan had just said. He rather liked the idea of being somebody’s savior, even if it was just by cooking a decent meal for them. Even though they’d only met four days ago, he already felt as though these people were somehow family. Which was silly, he supposed; but the feeling persisted, nonetheless.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jahaan explains to Avery how he became a father

Avery was trying not to laugh at Rayan, whose cheeks were swollen like a chipmunk’s. He’d stuffed so much chicken into his mouth that his cheeks were swollen as though he were storing nuts in there. He was chewing vigorously, and making happy little noises as he did so. He looked away from the child so that he wouldn’t burst out laughing, and his eyes met Jahaan’s. He saw the gleam of suppressed laughter in those warm brown orbs as well, and Avery had to take a hurried drink of from his water glass to keep himself from losing it entirely. He glanced over at Shada instead of at her brother or uncle, and was glad that the girl was eating quietly and neatly without looking across the table at Rayan.

He cut a piece of chicken and put it in his mouth, glad that it had cooked so well. It was tender and perfectly-cooked, practically melting in his mouth. Obviously his guests were all enjoying it as well, although Jahaan and Shada were enjoying it far less energetically than Rayan was. Nobody was talking, because they were all so busy eating. There was only the clink of silverware and the sounds of chewing(mostly from Rayan’s direction) to break the comfortable silence that had fallen over the table.

Finally, everybody was done. Rayan was burping, having eaten far too fast and far too much. He was lying back in his chair with a somewhat bloated tummy, smiling to himself. Avery stood up. “Does anybody want dessert?” he asked.

Rayan perked up immediately. “Yes!” he cried, though he had to be pretty full at this point.

“I’ve got some chocolate cake,” Avery told him, and the boy cheered. Jahaan chuckled and shook his head.

He went into the kitchen to fetch the cake he’d bought at a nearby bakery this afternoon(he was a great cook but only a mediocre baker), as well as four small plates and clean forks. He carried the cake out to the table, and Rayan craned his neck eagerly to see it as Avery set it on the tabletop. “Do you want a piece too, Shada?” Avery asked the girl, who nodded. While she was more quiet than her brother, her big brown eyes were still trained on the cake.

Avery cut a small piece for everybody, knowing that they were all full enough that a big piece might finish them off. He handed one piece to Rayan, along with a fork, then gave one to Shada and Jahaan. They both thanked him politely before picking up their forks, and Avery smiled to himself as he sat back down in his chair and attended to his own piece. 

Rayan was making “mmmm,” noises as he ate the cake, frosting smeared around his mouth in streaks.

“This is very good,” Jahaan remarked. “Did you bake it yourself?”

Avery shook his head regretfully. “No, I can cook but I can’t bake. I bought it at this local bakery I know.”

“Ah, so your talents DO have some limitations,” Jahaan teased, smiling at him.

That smile did funny things both in his abdomen and lower down as well. He shrugged. “I do my best with what I have.”

“I’m sure you do,” Jahaan said, and something in his voice made a scrim of heat wash over Avery’s skin.

“I’m done, Daddy,” Rayan piped up. Both of them looked at him, seeing that the boy’s face was smeared liberally with frosting.

“I can see that, Rayan,” Jahaan remarked in amusement. “Now you should wash your face.”

“Come into the kitchen with me, Rayan, and I’ll get you a wet washcloth,” Avery told the boy.

“Would you? Shada and I will bring the dishes into the kitchen while you do that,” Jahaan told him.

Avery nodded and led the child into the kitchen to run warm water over a cloth so that he could kneel down and wash the cake off of Rayan’s rosy cheeks and mouth. “So you liked the cake?” he said as he wiped.

Rayan nodded. “Uh huh! I like chocolate,” he confessed happily.

“Yes, I’ve noticed that,” Avery agreed, finishing his task as Jahaan and Shada came into the kitchen with the dirty dishes and took them over to rinse them in the sink.

“You guys don’t have to do that,” Avery said, rising to his feet.

“Yes, we do. We’re just doing our part after you cooked for us,” Jahaan replied. “What should we do with these?”

“Stack them in the dishwasher,” he walked over and opened the door of the dishwasher, pulling out the rack so that Jahaan could stack the rinsed dishes into it.

This was quickly done, and Rayan began to dance around impatiently. “Can we watch a movie now?” he asked hopefully.

“You sure can. What would you guys like to watch?” Avery asked him.

“Garfield!” He yelled at the top of his lungs.

“Come on, Rayan, we’ve watched that tons of times at home,” Shada complained. “Let’s watch something else.”

“You should pick something else if your sister doesn’t want to watch Garfield, Rayan,” Avery told him. “I’ve got lots of other things to watch, too.”

“Okay,” the boy said, looking disappointed.

“Thank you, Rayan. Come into the living room and you guys can pick which one you both want to watch.”

He led the way out into the living room, with Rayan and Shada at his heels. The children pored over the DVDs once again, and they finally decided on Shrek 3 as being a good compromise that they could both live with. Avery put the movie into the DVD player and used the remote to turn it on, as the children sat down on his couch side-by-side. “There we go,” he said. “If you guys need anything, just let me know, okay?”

They nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Green,” Shada said softly.

“Hey, you’re welcome.” he said with a smile for her.

“You should go and talk to Uncle Jahaan now,” the girl said, looking at him out of those big, guileless brown eyes.

Avery’s lips twitched. “Yes, I’ll do that,” he assured her, making her look satisfied. He walked back to where Jahaan was standing by the table, and he saw by the gleam in the other man’s eyes that Jahaan had heard that exchange and was trying hard not to bust out laughing.

He shrugged, spreading his hands silently out in front of himself. Jahaan tilted his head to the side. “What shall we talk about, Avery?” he asked softly.

“I’m sure we’ll think of something,” he pulled out a chair at the cleared table and indicated that Jahaan should sit down beside him. “How about something innocuous…how was work today?”

Jahaan sighed, rolling his head on his neck. “Long and stressful, as usual,” he said glumly. “If I hadn’t had this evening to look forward to, it would have been even worse.” his eyes were resting on Avery’s face as he said this, and he felt a spurt of warmth in the pit of his stomach.

“You really don’t like your job, do you?” Avery commented.

Jahaan blew out a long breath. “No, I don’t. Especially when I can see, and even help out a bit, other people doing the job that I used to do, the one that I loved. But i can't do it full-time anymore myself, because I have to be on top of every single project. i can't concentrate on just one. It’s like a starving man standing outside the window of a restaurant, watching the people inside enjoy a banquet, and sometimes being thrown a few scraps, but never getting the whole meal anymore.”

“Harsh,” Avery remarked sympathetically. “I know you took the supervisor’s job for better money and benefits, but…honestly, if it makes you so unhappy that the children even noticed, is more money worth it?”

Jahaan looked down at his hands, which were twined together on the tabletop. “I’m beginning to think that it wasn’t,” he said tiredly. “But to give it up? What will my bosses think?”

“Explain to them that you have kids you’re raising alone, and that you need to spend more time with them,” Avery replied promptly. “A supervisor works a lot more hours than an engineer, I bet.”

“Yes, they do. I suppose that I could take the pay cut, though I worry about the future,” Jahaan said as he rubbed at his forehead with two fingers.

“Worry about now, and maybe a bit about the future,” Avery said gently. “Because if you work yourself into a breakdown, how will you make any money? And who would take care of the kids then? You have to look after yourself as well as those children, Jahaan. They need you, but they most definitely need you to be healthy and happy. You shouldn’t make Shada worry over you.”

Jahaan grimaced at his most accurate hit. “She doesn’t need any more to worry about,” he agreed sadly. “She’s already gone through so much in her short life that it’s not funny.”

Avery said tactfully: “What happened? With their parents? If it’s okay to ask,” he added swiftly.

Jahaan’s eyes were far away. “Our parents brought my brother Abad and I to America when I was twelve and he was fifteen,” he began, his voice quiet and sad. “My father was a chemist, and he wanted a better life for his family. He took a job at a chemical company, and brought his family to the States so that we could all become citizens. He knew we’d have many more opportunities here than we would have had in Lebanon. It was really strange here at first, and kids in school made fun of our accents. But we persevered, and eventually thrived. He went to college to study Geology, and I went to study engineering.”

He paused, taking a sip from his half-empty water glass. “Our father died when I was just graduating from college with my bachelor’s degree. He had a fatal heart attack. My mother followed soon after, just wasting away without him. Abad decided to go back to Lebanon after they were gone. He’d never been completely happy here. I chose to stay, partially because I’d figured out in college that I was gay. There wouldn’t have been much of a life for me as a gay man in a country that is predominantly Muslim, and I didn’t want to hide who or what I was. Abad understood. I would visit him every once in awhile, or he’d come back here to see me. His second year after moving back, he brought his new wife Miriam with him so that I could meet her. She was also a geologist, and a lovely woman. Abad adored her. He informed me then that I was going to be an uncle, and I was happy to hear that. I flew over there when Shada was born to see her. She was so beautiful. And my brother was as proud as they come, showing off his new daughter to everybody.”

Jahaan glanced at Avery. “I am getting there,” he said apologetically.

“No, I understand,” Avery replied, fascinated by this story. “Please go on.”

“Well, I saw my brother and his family at least five times a year, and life was pretty good for me. I was doing well in my chosen career, my love life seemed to be picking up, I was thinking about settling down with someone…and my sister-in-law had just had a son, much to Abad’s wild delight. How could life get any better?” his smile was crooked and tired.

“I should have known not to think that way. When Rayan was a little over a year old, my brother and his wife were up near the Blue Line, the border that separates Lebanon from Israel, doing a geological survey. Unbeknownst to them, members of Hizbollah had fired rockets into Israeli territory the day before, and the Israeli Army retaliated by lobbing artillery into areas where suspected Hizbollah bases were supposed to be. One of those places was the area where my brother and his wife were working. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time - and they paid the ultimate price. They were both killed instantly.”

“I’m so sorry,” Avery said softly, reaching out to take his hand.

Jahaan looked down at the hand covering his own, his mouth tight and his eyes shuttered. “I lost my brother and sister-in-law, and became a parent all in one day,” he said tightly. “Miriam had been an orphan; there was no one else to take Shada and Rayan in. And it was so hard, those first few months…Rayan was too young to know what was going on, but Shada was devastated. For months she woke up every night from nightmares, screaming for her mother. The only way to comfort her was for me to sleep in her bed with her. I had to conceal my own grief because the children needed me to be strong. It has been…very difficult…”

Avery wanted to hug him and stroke the black curls, but he restrained himself and just stroked the long brown fingers with his own instead. “That’s terrible.” he said aloud. “But you’ve obviously done such a good job of giving them a stable home that the children are both healthy and happy, even poor Shada. I think maybe it’s time for you to do something for yourself now, and not just for them. Don’t you think?”

Jahaan looked up into his eyes. “I think that you’re right, Avery,” he agreed. “I SHOULD just do something for myself.” his fingers closed over Avery’s, and he never looked away as he said softly: “I think I know exactly where to start doing that, too.”


End file.
